Reviews of regional stage plays

CAMBRIDGE -- "The Drawer Boy," playing at Hubbard Hall in Cambridge through Sunday, is officially the first don't miss theater production of the year.

It is one of those plays that sneak up on you to squirrel its way into your mind and heart. You might forget some of the details of the show, but you will never forget the feeling of having experienced an intensely personal story that makes you understand the power of storytelling and the responsibilities of those who create and tell those tales.

The play concerns two older World War II veterans who operate a small dairy farm. One of the men, Angus, has a mental disability caused when fragments of a bomb tore his head apart. He has no memories. The only person he can always recall is his friend Morgan.

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Then, Miles, a young actor, arrives asking to be put up so he can observe their work on the farm in order to create an original theater piece on farming. Things change. As the young innocent asks questions about the men's lives and friendship, he makes discoveries that alter everyone's perception of storytelling and the need for truth in one's life.

Philip Kerr offers a courageous and brilliant performance of a man who struggles to make sense of a life without a past or hope of a future. He is often funny, frequently heartbreaking and always endearing. And, miraculously, he is very wise. It's acting of the highest order -- smart, brave and sensitive.

As Morgan, Benjie White turns in his best ever performance at Hubbard Hall. The character of young Miles is played by a charming Jason Dolmetsch, whose greatest contribution to "The Drawer Boy" is as its director, keeping the piece focused and in control.

"The Drawer Boy" at Hubbard Hall in Cambridge continues at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25; call (518) 677-2495 or go to www.hubbardhall.org.

Bob Goepfert

The Secret Garden

The program for Circle Theatre Players' "The Secret Garden" is underwritten by a funeral home, which is only fitting. Crippling grief and loss in the face of death permeates Marsha Norman's musical, scored by Lucy Simon.

Nearly all sung (and nearly three hours' running time), "Secret Garden" is ambitious for any community theater group. Hats off to Averill Park's CTP for braving it, presenting a mostly effective staging that continues this weekend.

Musical director Marietta Mitchell has coaxed a balanced, nuanced, dynamic sound out of her ensemble, fine voices all. The ensemble summons up the ill-fated youth of grave and sour young Mary Lennox . Her English-born parents felled by a tragic bout of cholera, Mary is dispatched from India, the only home she's ever known, to the care of her nearest remaining relation, melancholy uncle Archibald Craven.

Craven is haunted to distraction by his own deep sense of loss, aching for his beloved late wife Lily, whose ghostly presence still stalks the corridors of his lonely manse.

Mary senses that ghostly presence, too, but her response is not so morbid. She turns her youthful curiosity to her new home's mysteries, including an off-limits walled garden left untouched since Lily's untimely death.

Director Deborah Dorman creates some interesting stage pictures, but the tone of the piece is uneven. The chorus is grave and ghostly in demeanor, but their staging was not so static. The show's opening scenes are tentative and awkward, but that dissipates once Mary shakes off her somber demeanor.

Do not let any of this dissuade you from visiting "The Secret Garden." It rewards your patience and rejuvenates your spirit.

Circle Theatre Players' "The Secret Garden" continues with performances at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 Sunday at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, 2880 Route 43 in Averill Park. For information and reservations, call 674-2007 or go to www.slca-ctp.org.

Phil Drew

Dracula

LATHAM -- Curtain Call Theatre is offering a first-rate production of the gothic thriller "Dracula." The show, which plays through Feb 9, is well acted, wonderfully directed and has the type of technical support that is needed for a show dependent on an eerie environment.

Playwright Steven Dietz reduces Count Dracula to an important supporting role and focuses on the relationship between the realist Van Helsing and his protégée, the impetuous Dr. Seward. The two team up to try to save Seward's love, Lucy, from the emotionless Dracula. In a world controlled by the insane, the only sanctuary for the sane is through intelligent, rational behavior.

Director Steve Fletcher is at the top of his game with this production. Not only does he use the men to show the various ways people handle fear and terror, he adds stylistic touches of his own to create compelling stage images.

Set designer Greg Mitchell uses scrims and platforms to create a dark mood and provide the many spaces needed by the text. The set is made chilling by Lily Fossner's dark, evocative lighting.

Performances are also strong. Best among them is Gardner, who is excellent as the strong-minded but compassionate Van Helsing, as he brings a teacher's nurturing demeanor to the man's zealous behavior.

This is a production to admire, but it does not totally overcome the fact that because the story is familiar, the second act sags because everyone in the audience knows what is going to happen. However, if you can't get enough of the Dracula myth, this is the one to see.